Table 1 The MENTUPP ToC terminology adapted from De Silva et al., 2014, [30] and Fridrich et al., 2015 [31]
Terminology | Definitions |
|---|---|
Impact | Real-world change (ultimate goal) that the project is trying to achieve (not measured in the project) |
Ceiling of accountability | The point at which implementers/researchers stop measuring whether outcomes have been achieved |
Long-term/distal outcomes | The measurable outcomes that the program can achieve on its own. This can inspire the selection of primary and secondary outcome indicators for the evaluation |
Intermediate outcomes | Necessary stepping stones (conditions, requirements, elements) that need to be realized for the desired long-term outcomes to be achieved |
Proximate outcomes | Results of the change process that are assumed to immediately arise |
Intervention components | Certain activities or strategies that need to be undertaken to bring about outcomes |
Assumptions | External conditions beyond the control of the project that we assume are in place so the intervention functions successfully and intermediate outcomes are achieved |
Rationales | The facts or reasons (based on evidence or experience) behind the choice of the intervention components or the selection of outcomes that justify the assumed causal pathway |
Indicators | Operationalization of outcomes to measure whether they are reached |